Anna Motivans

1931 - 2025

Anna Motivans, whose life was defined by resilience, creativity, and a deep connection to nature, died surrounded by her family, on November 6, 2025 in St. Paul, Minn. from pancreatic cancer. She was 94 years old. At the end of her life, she was cared for by her children, grandchildren, and the compassionate care of Grace Hospice.

Born on June 21, 1931, to Emilija and Antons Muktupavels in Livani, Latvia, Anna entered the world on midsummer nights' eve. From her earliest days, she possessed a vibrant life force and spiritual connection to the earth. She loved all animals, especially llamas. She delighted in collecting colorful leaves, acorns and seed pods. Her books were filled with dried leaves and tiny flower stems. Open her recipe book and pressed flowers float everywhere. She found joy in writing her memoirs, reading, art, poetry, music, gardening, and nurturing her house plants. She was easy to laughter, loved jokes and silly moments in our family.

Anna's strength and resilience carried her through life's greatest challenges. She and her family fled the Soviet Army, leaving their farm in Latvia during WWII, endured the hardships of a refugee camp in post-war Germany, and bravely began a new life in the United States.

She was the only woman in her graduating class in the pharmacy program at Butler University. She met her future husband, Joseph Motivans (also a Latvian) in Indianapolis. They were married in 1957 and moved to Chicago where they formed deep friendships in the vibrant Latvian community. Anna and Joseph faced profound loss with the passing of their first child, Irena, at age 3. Anna was soon pregnant again and managed a household of five children under age 5 in a bungalow on N. 22nd St. in La Crosse. Later the family moved to Cliffwood Lane and her youngest child, Paul, was born. The family took vacations across the country with many happy memories of hiking, camping, and consuming beans and hot dogs on these adventures.

Anna balanced her career as a pharmacist at St. Francis and Lutheran Hospitals with a wide array of creative pursuits. She spun sheep wool, boiled plants to dye the wool, and knitted the colored wool into sweaters or wove blankets and rugs using a room-sized loom. Her artistry extended to stained glass where she fearlessly cut and soldered jagged pieces of glass into floral designs. Even in her final months, she wove colorful Latvian belts for friends using a hand-held branch loom.

Her passion for gardening and traditional medicinal plants led her to transforming a plot of land outside La Crosse into a native prairie brimming with wildflowers and her beloved Burr Oak trees. It remains a special place for the family to gather.

Anna often visited Latvia after its independence in 1991 and volunteered her pharmacy skills as part of an exchange program with local hospitals. She also travelled around the world from the Galapagos islands and Patagonia to the Arctic Circle. But she deeply loved La Crosse and was an active member at the Newman Center, Three Rivers Fiber Arts Guild, the Prairie Enthusiasts and volunteered for La Crosse charities, including the St. Clare Health Mission.

She generously shared her love and support with her family and is survived by her children, Karene (Stuart), Albert (Jana), Sylvia (Tim), Mark (Catherine), Lindi (Doug), Paul; and niece, Renate; grandchildren, Emilija, Eliza, Elena, Nicholas, Anton, Isabel, Mara, Anya, Haley, Benjamin, Lila, and Lukas; great-grandchildren, Julijan and Juniper. She was predeceased by her husband, Joseph; daughter, Irena; sister, Veronika; brother-in-law, Henry; and niece, Beate.

A celebration of life is planned for June 2026 at the Drectrah Coulee family hobby farm. For more details about the celebration, or to leave a note for the family, please email to: FamilyMotivans@gmail.com.

In her remembrance, please consider donating to one of her favorite charities, the Occupation Museum of Latvia (http://donate.omfa-usa.org/) or The Prairie Enthusiasts (http://secure.qgiv.com/for/theprairieenthusiasts).